How do I charge a gel battery?
The main difference between gel batteries and conventionalin the fact that in its liquid electrolyte there is a special additive - silicon dioxide (SiO2). It helps to form a jelly-like mass from a liquid acid. It fills the space of the battery.
Its main advantage is the ability torecombination of gases, which are formed during battery operation. They do not evaporate, but return back to the gel electrolyte and take part in the chemical processes that occur when charging the battery. In such gel batteries, the recombination effect reaches 99%!
Gel batteries are manufactured withpractically sealed housing, that is, they are absolutely maintenance-free. And withstand many more cycles of full discharge, while maintaining its performance characteristics. Plus - they have a very low self-discharge current. For example, for a year the level of charge decreases only by 20%.
Because of the above features, gel storage batteries require a certain state of on-board electrical power and auto-charging parameters. We will tell you how to charge the gel battery.
Conditions for recharging the gel battery
The voltage that is applied to the battery terminals in thethe moment of the charge should not vary during the entire procedure, nor can it be higher than 14.4 V. Thus, car owners will have to periodically monitor the operation of the relay regulator, which often produces a voltage of 13 to 16 V pulses. Such jumps completely unacceptable for gel batteries.
How to properly charge the gel battery
The main rule for recharging a gel batteryIs the use of lower discharge and charge currents. The fact is that with large currents a simple battery starts to "boil" and releases gas into the atmosphere. Do not have sealed gel batteries. If there is an overload, in the literal sense of the word it swells up to the corrosion of the case.
Typically, the discharge current is indicated in the instructionto the battery, but the charger is always 0.1 of the capacity. For example, a battery with a capacity of 7.5Ah is charged with a current of 750ma, 12Ah - 1.2A and so on.
Special chargers thatused to charge gel batteries, realize a convenient, two-step charging procedure, thanks to which the battery is charged quickly and without damage. The main principle of these chargers is that the initial charge current does not exceed 0.1 of the battery capacity, and when the battery voltage reaches a maximum (14.4V), the device turns on the mode of clear voltage stabilization. At the same time, the charging current gradually decreases and when it reaches 13 from the maximum, "charging" is turned off.
If the battery is not disconnected from the chargerdevice, then after some time the voltage on it will begin to decrease, and when it reaches 13.5V, the "charging" will turn on again, keeping the battery in the charged state for a long time.
Such a charge scheme completely eliminates reloading (with possible swelling) of the battery and allows creating optimal conditions for its normal storage.
Now you know if you can charge the gel battery.
